Brussels, 05/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to allocate €7 million to the most vulnerable people in Haiti as part of a global humanitarian aid plan for the poorest country of the western hemisphere. With 70% of the Haitian population living below poverty level (less than US$2 per day), the situation grew worse in 2008 with the global food crisis. Women and children were the first victims.
Funding, which comes from the budget of ECHO (the Commission's humanitarian aid service) is intended to fight malnutrition and maternal and infant mortality, as well as strengthen the country's ability to face up to humanitarian crises. Aid will be allocated to most of the country's departments to the benefit of around one million people.
This overall humanitarian plan for Haiti follows the opening of a new European Commission humanitarian bureau in Port-au-Prince. Olli Rehn, current European Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, says the aim is to deploy a “coordinated humanitarian response and to make Haiti a priority recipient of international humanitarian aid”. Since 1993, the Commission has granted Haiti over €90 million in humanitarian aid. (A.N./transl.jl)